


Living Every Day

by dettiot



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Mandalorian Politics (Star Wars), Satine Kryze Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 11:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30138978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dettiot/pseuds/dettiot
Summary: When Satine Kryze survives her encounter with Darth Maul, it changes the galaxy. But even more than that, it changes the lives of Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Skywalker family.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Satine Kryze, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 57





	Living Every Day

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! I'm diving into a new AU and I'm so happy you're along for the ride. 
> 
> This begins with The Lawless and then continues through the rise of the Empire. The focus is on Satine & Obi-Wan at first, before drawing in Padme & Anakin. If you follow me on Tumblr, this will eventually encompass two ficlets I wrote where Obi-Wan brings Anakin and Padme to Satine for help after the duel on Mustafar. But before I got to that point, I wanted to really explore how Satine would change following her brush with death and the loss of Mandalore. 
> 
> Updates will be a bit irregular, but I hope the wait between chapters won't be too long. Thanks for reading--I look forward to hearing what y'all think!

_Well something's lost, but something's gained_  
_In living every day_  
Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now

When he had first come to Mandalore, the planet was full of life and energy. Fiery and fierce energy, but energy nonetheless. 

Now, it was just . . . dead. Like the surface of the planet beyond the domed cities, nothing felt alive on Mandalore. Even though there were people, fighting with everything they had for their beliefs, Obi-Wan couldn’t feel the Force. Couldn’t feel the light. 

Or maybe it was because he was standing in front of Maul, watching him strut and boast as Satine kneeled at his side, her arms bound behind her. He could see how the guards holding her in place had left bruises on her arms.

It took everything he possessed not to lash out. To keep himself in check, to control himself. Perhaps everything he had experienced in his life was preparing him for this moment.

The sound of explosions and blaster fire grew louder, and Maul paused and gestured to his apprentice, who growled and left the room, accompanied by the armored Mandalorians. 

Maul resumed his speech, so convinced that he could persuade Obi-Wan to fall. To embrace the Dark Side, to give in to his anger and fear. Like that was the only way he could protect Satine. 

But if he Fell . . . would he even care if Satine survived? Or would he become so blinded by revenge that all that mattered was killing Maul, for good?

The Dark Side was the easy path. A shortcut. And Obi-Wan Kenobi had never taken the shortcut. 

But . . . Satine. 

He needed to keep his eyes on Maul, but he had to look at Satine as Maul lifted her with the Force, her hands scrabbling at her neck. He did his best to silently tell her to trust him. 

Although she had always trusted him. Even when they first met, when she snapped at him and teased him. She had believed in him. 

“And now, the perfect tool for my vengeance is in front of us. I never planned on killing you, but I will make you share my pain, Kenobi.” 

A million thoughts flashed through Obi-Wan’s mind. Anger at Maul for diminishing Satine, seeing her as an extension of Obi-Wan instead of seeing her as the threat she truly was. Disdain for Maul’s tactics, for luring him here--and shame at having fallen for it. But how could he do anything else? 

Satine needed him. And too often, he had not even known he could have helped. 

This time, he had known. He had come for her, marshaling Bo-Katan and her forces to provide a distraction as he attempted to rescue Satine. And even though the escape had been unsuccessful, Bo-Katan had remained free, and had kept doing her part, as the sounds of battle kept filtering into the throne room proved. 

Anger, disdain, shame--they were all paths to the Dark Side. But Obi-Wan would not Fall. Because dwarfing all those feelings inside him was determination. Cold, hard determination to prevent Maul from hurting Satine. 

Time seemed to slow, Maul’s moves telegraphed as he drew the Darksaber. Throwing out a hand, Obi-Wan sent a wave of the Force towards Maul and Satine, hoping to deflect the saber. At the same time, he could feel Maul’s grip on Satine’s throat weaken, allowing her to twist her torso. 

And then a scream erupted as the Darksaber entered Satine’s body.

It could have been Satine screaming or himself--Obi-Wan didn’t know. But no sooner had Maul withdrawn the Darksaber from Satine than Obi-Wan was advancing on the Sith.

The guards attempted to get in his way, but Obi-Wan brushed them aside. He yanked Maul’s lightsaber from his belt and ignited it, immediately bringing it to bear against the Darksaber. 

The blades seemed to be drawn together in a strange way. Different from when he had fought Vizsla. Perhaps it was because he was using a Sith blade. Or maybe it was simply due to facing an old opponent once again. 

For over a decade, he had been using Soresu because of how Ataru had failed against this opponent. But Obi-Wan could not allow this fight to be drawn out--not with Satine lying so still on the floor, her sense in the Force thready and fragile. 

So he attempted to meld Soresu and Ataru, searching for commonalities and finding them. Keeping Maul on the back foot, striking hard and then feinting to keep him off-balance. 

After feeling so remote and distant, the Force was with him in a way Obi-Wan had never experienced. It felt like it had rushed to him, to give him the strength he needed, yet it also felt like the Force was holding its breath? 

It was a foolish conception, he knew. And in the midst of this fight, he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted. He needed to find every advantage. 

But since he had the Force, he had all he needed. 

Obi-Wan could feel Maul’s desperation. He was being pushed back by Obi-Wan’s blows, giving ground and less powerful with his mechanical prosthetics. A twist of his wrist with Maul’s saber, and Obi-Wan could feel Maul’s grip on the Darksaber loosen. 

In that moment of indecision, he pulled on the Darksaber, feeling the Force with him like never before. 

And with a strange little throb, the Darksaber leapt into his hand. 

Disarmed and backed up against one of the floor-length windows, Maul grimaced. Obi-Wan advanced, holding both blades near his throat. Surrender was the only option now, and they both knew it. 

But Maul did not seem ready to surrender. 

“Kenobi! We need not be enemies!” 

Snorting, Obi-Wan moved closer, bringing both blades closer to Maul’s throat. “A feeble ploy.” 

“Someday, you will need help! When you know what my master intends for the galaxy!” Maul’s voice sounded equally crazed and reverent. It turned Obi-Wan’s stomach. 

“No matter what your master has planned, the galaxy would be better off without you!” Obi-Wan hissed through gritted teeth. 

Ignoring the blades that were an inch from his throat, Maul met Obi-Wan’s eyes. And in that moment, Obi-Wan realized Maul pitied him. 

But . . . why? 

The moment of distraction was all Maul needed. He pushed Obi-Wan with the Force, sweeping the lightsaber and Darksaber away. He turned and sent a massive push against the transparisteel of the window. And then, as Obi-Wan scrambled towards Maul, the man threw himself out the window. 

Sheer instinct made Obi-Wan go to the window opening, looking for any sign of Maul. But there was none. Whether he had perished or had yet another death-defying escape, Obi-Wan did not know. 

Maul would have to wait, though. 

Retrieving both lightsaber and Darksaber, Obi-Wan hurried over to Satine, crouching over her. “Satine?” he asked, running his hands over her and assessing her condition. 

The Darksaber had penetrated her side, in a blow not as catastrophic as being run through the middle of her torso, but still dangerous. There was probably organ damage, blood loss, a dozen other problems. And he was no healer. 

“Satine?” he said again, touching her cheek. 

Her face tensed, her eyes squeezing shut, before they slowly opened, hazed over with pain. In a hushed voice, she said, “Obi . . . I loved you always . . . I always will.” 

His heart gave a queer, strange beat at her words and he opened his mouth without knowing what he would say. It didn’t matter, because Satine’s eyes closed and he could sense she had fallen unconscious. 

This was the second time Satine had been on the verge of death and confessed her love for him. How many times would they have to go through this? How could he allow himself to be so attached to her, to put her in such danger? 

Swallowing, Obi-Wan cupped the back of Satine’s head and rested his lips against her hair. And for the first time, he allowed his mouth to silently form the words that matched the emotion in his heart. Even though it went against everything he believed as a Jedi . . . he needed to acknowledge it. 

“I love you.” 

There were footsteps and the sound of metal against metal. Obi-Wan looked up and saw members of Death Watch entering the room, led by Bo-Katan. When she saw Satine, her face went white, before she started snapping orders to a medic, who quickly began assessing Satine’s condition. 

Obi-Wan stepped back, knowing he needed to give the healer space, even as he wanted to stay at Satine’s side. 

“What happened?” Bo-Katan asked, her voice rough. 

“Maul . . .” he said slowly, trying to gather his thoughts. “He wanted . . . he thrust the Darksaber into her. We fought and he escaped through that window,” he said, gesturing towards the other end of the throne room. 

Bo-Katan’s eyes narrowed and he could sense her distrust in the Force. But all she said was, “Voj, report.” 

The medic kneeling by Satine said, “Too early to say. We need to evacuate the Duchess and get her in bacta.” 

“Do it,” Bo-Katan said. “Ursa, your squad will accompany Voj and the Duchess to our base.” 

The Mandalorian standing beside Bo-Katan nodded and began barking out her own orders. 

All he wanted was to go with Satine. But he guessed he couldn’t--a guess that was proven correct when Bo-Katan looked at him. “We need you to help cover us before going to the Republic to get their aid,” she said bluntly. 

“The Republic will not be willing to interfere,” Obi-Wan pointed out. “This is an internal matter. And the treaties--” 

“It won’t matter,” Bo-Katan interrupted. “You now possess the Darksaber. You lead Mandalore--we’ll just keep the jetii part quiet for now.” 

Obi-Wan looked down at the Darksaber attached to his belt. Of course he knew the importance of the Darksaber, but he hadn’t realized possessing it meant he was the Manda’lor. 

But if anyone should be the Manda’lor, it should be Satine.

“I don’t want to lead Mandalore,” Obi-Wan said firmly. He held the Darksaber out to Bo-Katan. “Give it to the Duchess when she wakes up.” 

Bo-Katan’s eyes were calculating, then she took the Darksaber and clipped it to her belt. “It seems my sister saw something in you that I didn’t.”

Obi-Wan blinked. “Your sister?” 

It was hard to see any similarities between the two women in appearance. But in personality . . . there was the same passionate nature, the same determination. 

Bo-Katan didn’t reply, except to turn to one of her men and ordered him to relinquish his jetpack. Then she turned and shoved it into Obi-Wan’s arms. “Put this on. Let’s go.” 

Although he had never used a jet pack, he wasn’t about to tell Bo-Katan that. Not when he sensed he was lucky she was allowing him to even stay on Mandalore. 

His last glimpse of Satine was when she was carried out of the throne room, heading towards an unknown ship to be taken to an unknown location. 

And Obi-Wan wondered if he should have said the words out loud. But it was too late now. And he had a duty to perform: to do everything in his power to save Mandalore for Satine. 

After all, he had already earned the Council’s ire and the Republic’s censure just by coming here in the first place. He doubted he would be able to do anything to fulfill Bo-Katan’s order. His status would be severely weakened for becoming involved in Mandalore. 

But he could provide cover for Bo-Katan and her soldiers, to allow Satine to escape. It was the least he could do. 

Not when he couldn’t even tell a woman potentially on the verge of death how he felt about her. 

End, Prologue


End file.
